A strange silence settled over the hillside and meadow, like a dark shroud of death. Kronya didn’t struggle. He knew he was dead already. He didn’t even try to delay the inevitable, not even to buy more time for Albert. He just let Dymka kill him.* * *• • •
HE’S coming and he’s so mad, Jewel whispered to Ania.
This is what we’ve been waiting for, Ania assured, doing her best to pour confidence in her voice.
Both of them were burning up. Ania was so uncomfortable she wanted to scream. And hot. It didn’t matter that the mist was cool and the breeze had grown into an actual wind, her body temperature was soaring. Jewel was in even worse condition, panting, sides heaving, her body crouching there in the crotch of the straggly limb she was perched in.
Ania did her best to caution the leopard repeatedly not to move. The branch was no bigger around than a quarter and it bent and bounced up and down with every ragged, panting breath Jewel drew.
The reddish coat on the male had taken on a sinister look. It was wet with the mist now, and looked almost as if blood tinged the undercoat. It was a grisly, bizarre image Ania couldn’t get out of her head. Those eyes staring up through the spots on his face had gone from a sickening yellow to an eviler red. They glowed like a demon’s eyes fixed on Jewel—focused completely. Unblinking, a predator whose entire being was concentrated on killing prey.
Let him come, Ania whispered. It was all she could do not to tremble, but Jewel was so frightened, she had to show courage.
The cat clawed his way closer until Jewel was staring directly into his triumphant eyes and he reached his front leg the remaining distance in an effort to hook his claw into the smaller cat to drag her off the branch.
Ania shifted as fast as she could, uncaring how much she managed to shift. It was only her arm and hand that mattered. She had gone over the moves hundreds of times in her head and she caught up the spear smoothly and slammed it into the cat’s throat. Blood erupted, a great river of it. Jewel tried to back away. Ania held her ruthlessly in place.
The reddish-furred cat fell backward out of the tree and landed on his side as he tried to turn in midair and failed. He landed hard, driving the spikes deep into his side. He screamed horribly, gurgling between each shriek of pain. He thrashed around, trying to unstick himself from the spikes buried in the ground.
She hadn’t had the time to set up too many of them and the ground was very soft, so the leopard was able to roll to his feet. The wound in his throat was deep and he coughed, spraying out more blood. He looked up at the tree and his eyes met Ania’s. Her heart nearly stopped. He was coming back, and he was really, really angry.
Mitya. She said his name softly, a chill going down her spine.
The leopard jumped for the tree trunk and just hung there for a moment, his eyes glaring up at her and blood running down his chest. He clawed at the bark, digging in deep, so he could move up the trunk inch by inch. Foot by foot. Gaining ground as he climbed higher.
He would be waiting for her to stab at him with the spear, Ania knew. She had to believe he was like Mitya, able to shift with blurring speed. If he yanked the spear out of her hands, he could attack Jewel with it, drive her out of the tree so she would fall to the ground below. Even if she missed the spikes and the dirt was really too soft to kill her, she could still be dazed, or break a leg. Ania couldn’t let that happen.
Could Jewel outrun the male? He was badly injured. Blood poured from his throat and dotted his coat on his left side. Still, it was a terrible chance to take. As long as Jewel remained on the branch, she had a better chance of remaining out of the male’s reach.
Ania didn’t take her eyes from the cat clawing his way up the tree trunk. The wind blasted her face and she stayed very still, even though the droplets of water in the air were very cold on her skin. She didn’t care that the horrible man driving his leopard to such depravity could see her upper body. If anything, his gaze continued to drop from her eyes to her breasts. Let him be distracted. She had only to wait for Mitya. He would come. She knew he would.
The cat managed to make his way to just below the branch Jewel stood on. Ania calculated her weight. If she shifted entirely, she could climb to the next branch and she doubted if, even in human form, the male could get to her. If she tried stomping on his paw or hand, he could just grab her.